Master of Science in Education: 7-12 Generalist

Division of Education
Department of Educational Psychology, Counseling and Special Education

Department phone number: (607) 436-3554

Website: http://www.oneonta.edu/academics/ed

Faculty: Brian Beitzel, Chair of Educational Psychology, Counseling and Special Education, Joanne Curran, Nathan Gonyea, Dawn Hamlin, Nithya Iyer, Ronald La France, Daqi Li, Anuradhaa Shastri, Ying Tang

Program purposes and outcomes: The purpose of this Special Education program is to provide certified teachers with greater understanding of the needs of students with disabilities and handicapping conditions, and to master techniques to provide the most effective education program for them. This program will lead to the professional license for teachers already certified Adolescence Education as well as initial licenses in Special Education.

This program builds on initial skills and knowledge and further develops skills and knowledge in special education and in applying these skills and knowledge to the content area of their initial certification. The program is designed to develop professional leaders who are committed to excellence, empowerment, diversity, and the best research-based teaching methods.

To ensure quality, students must be admitted to programs before registering for courses, unless they have permission from the department chair.

No more than 9 s.h. may be transferred into this program. Courses with grades of "B-" through "F" are not transferable.

Admission Requirements

All students applying for admission to degree status are required to: Submit a completed application and the non-refundable fee.
Submit a copy of a NYS initial teaching certificate in Adolescence English, Math, Social Studies, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Earth Science, Spanish or French. (Teaching certificates from other states are considered.)
Submit an official transcript of an earned Bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited college.
Have achieved an undergraduate GPA of 3.0 overall and 3.0 in the major field during the last two years of undergraduate work.
Submit an essay reflecting on your student teaching and/or teaching experiences with students with special needs and identify one area of special needs that you would like to learn more about. Describe some of the issues you would discuss with a parent/guardian. Also describe two teaching adaptations that you might make for a child with special needs. Include references to at least five professional articles or books.
Submit three letters of reference.
Complete a personal interview.
Decisions on admission to the program are based on all of the above plus the admissions committee's judgment about the applicant's potential for success in the profession.
Prerequisite coursework: two courses in English, two courses in Math, two courses in Social Studies, and two courses in Science at the college level.
Students with a degree in a non-typical adolescence education program (e.g., Music, Physical Education) must also take and pass the CST Multi-Subject test for admission to the program.

Admission is competitive and meeting the minimum admission criteria does not guarantee acceptance. Applications are reviewed upon receipt by the department chair and his/her designees. Applications are due March 1 for the following fall admission.

Degree Requirements: MS in Education
Special Education: Adolescence

Degree requirements include a minimum of 10 courses in Special Education and Literacy and a 40-day student teaching course experience at two grade levels. Since all candidates will already hold an initial teaching license, no additional field work is required unless designated by course instructors. The courses are focused on skill development across the curriculum.

1. A minimum of 36 s.h. of planned and approved course work as follows:

SPED 510 Foundations of Special Education

SPED 511 Instructional Design for All Content Areas

SPED 512 Applied Behavioral Analysis

SPED 513 Teaching Learners with Severe and Multiple Special Needs

SPED 514 Teaching Math and Written Language to Learners with Special Needs

SPED 515 Assessment for Teaching Learners with Special Needs

SPED 517 Assistive Technology

SPED 518 Communication and Collaboration

SPED 520 Teaching Adolescents with Special Needs: Learning Strategies in Content Areas

EDUC 533 Meeting the Needs of Exceptional Children in Reading

SPED 600 Student Teaching in Special Education

2. Graduate students are required to maintain a 3.0 Cumulative GPA throughout their programs. Those whose GPA may fall beneath this minimum are placed on academic probation until either the grade point average meets that minimum or the student is academically dismissed. Full time students have one semester to bring the GPA to the minimum standard and part time students have until they complete an additional 12 credit hours.